Caryl - Houston-Packer Collection BS1415 .C37 v6

Chap. 18. eon expafitiT upon the Book, of J o a. Verf. to. 57 and his fibers too; the trueMinifters ofChrift are fibers ofmen ; and the falfe Prophet was called afnare ofa fowler in all his ways, Hof 9.8. As God bath fibers to catch the foules of men for good, fohe bath fillers to catch the bodyes and powers of men for their deftrudion and hurt, when they ufe their power to the hurt of his. He hath all forts of crafts-men at his call. In the firft ofZachary (v. 18. zoch) there arefoure Carpenters, ( force reade Smiths) what to doe ? To breaks the hornet ; That is, the powers that vexed the Saints, that pufbed yadah and If rael. When tyrantsput forth their bornes, God gives Commif fion to his Carpenters and Smiths to come with Hammers. And whenmenbegin to play the Foxes and the Wolves among his Sheepe, he fends his hunters with nets and fnares and traps to fpoyle thefe fpoylers Sixthly Obferve from the accumulation or heape of words hereufed, nets, and fnares, and grinnes, and coards, and traps, why all thefe ;doe they not intimate tous, that God kath Many wayes, variety of wayes, to catch and take evill men with. If the net fbouldnot take,the fnare íhall,if not that, the grinne Refis, cafs,la- fhail, if not the grinne, the coard (hall, ifnot that, the trap (hall : quei funiculi, It is threatned in the Prophet ; He thatfyesfrom the Lyon, the napta irnm i- t BeareJal take bim, he that es f rom the Beare a Viper hallfling decent him. e- His avoyding of one danger, fball be his falling into ano- ras effe in manu ther, and while he thinkes to out-run his trouble, he runs into dei rationesqui- it. As God bath infinite wayes to doe his people good ( he bath cur bomines tua more wayes of bleffing and deliveringus then one ; though he páCirafetealiira- can make any one way doe it , yet he bath variety) And as the moleftos rapiat, Lord pardons fin abundantly, (Ifa. 55. 7.) or multiplyes to d7raproslace- pardon, that is, he pardons more then one Pinne, and pardons Ter merl: more then one time, he multiplyes as of pardon. So the Lord bath many wayes to vex and afflict wicked men he kath va- riety of judgements, a treafury, a magazine (coredwith them ; He can Pet up ingine after ingine; inftrument after inftrument, if one fayle another (ball fulfill all his pleafure. Sword , fa- mine, peftilence, povertie, captivitie are all at his command ; He can punifh abundantly or multiply to punifh, he can mul- tiplypurüfhments both of a new kinde, and of the fame kinde. I He

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